1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge and, more particularly, to a playyard having a hinge adapted to safely and conveniently convert the playyard between a deployed orientation and a collapsed orientation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use playyards for receiving and supporting children is well known. Further, playyards with foldable capabilities are also well known. Such foldable playyards typically have hinges for converting the playyard between an erect deployed orientation and a collapsed orientation for transportation and storage.
One key element to allow playyards to be retained in one orientation or another are hinges. Such hinges, however, must be made safe for the child and convenient for the health care provider. All known hinges suffer from one defect or the other.
The patent literature discloses various playyards with hinge capabilities. Note, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,293,656 and 5,483,710, both to Chan, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,437 to Dilner.
None of these playyards with their hinges, however, provides the safety and convenience attended with the present invention, the playyard with the new and improved hinge.
The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art through a new useful and unobvious combination of component elements, through the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and through the utilization of only readily available and conventional materials.
Therefore, the present invention relates to a new and improved hinge positioned at the intermediate extents of the adjacent rail components to hold such components in an aligned orientation including a hinge for a collapsible playyard comprising a saddle in a generally inverted U-shaped configuration with opposed parallel faces and a coupling region thereabove, the opposed faces each having a pair of laterally spaced block apertures with block pins therebetween, a pair of laterally spaced rail apertures with rail pins therebetween, a pair of laterally spaced locking lever apertures with lever pins therethrough and a pair of laterally spaced generally horizontal guide slots with guide pins therethrough; a pair of normally vertically-oriented locking levers, each locking lever having a central aperture for receiving a lever pin, each locking lever having a lower end with a facing curved follower face and an upper end with an aperture receiving a lever pin and with an arcuate facing interior surface at the interior region thereof; a coil spring having a central horizontal axis with an exterior surface received within the facing recesses of the levers and with ends extending downwardly into contact with the exterior faces of the levers tending to move the lower ends of the levers inwardly and the upper ends of the levers outwardly; and a liftable block with generally vertically extending slots adjacent the lateral edges thereof receiving the block pins and adapted to allow the raising and lowering of the block between a lower locking deployed orientation and an upward unlocking collapsed orientation, the block also having a central region with cam surfaces adapted to contact the curved surfaces at the lower ends of the levers whereby movement of the block and the cam surfaces upwardly will urge the lower ends of the levers outwardly and the upper ends of the levers inwardly.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a playyard hinge which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and which constitutes an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the art.
Another object of the invention is to provide for the convenient deployment and collapse of a playyard with maximum safety.
It is another object of the present invention to maximize the safety of a playyard hinge which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a playyard hinge construction which is of a durable and reliable construction.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results could be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention as defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.